Cambridge Universal III Gold LNB AE54 (obsolete)

At first, the AE54 may look rather small. Notwithstanding, it weighs about a pound (480g) which is rather heavy for an LNB. Most of its weight comes from the housing which is sturdy and which very well protects the inside electronics from temperature changes and water ingress.

The F-connector is facing downwards and thus protected by the housing. At the feed side, an offset scale indicates the proper adjustment for satellite positions ranging from 45 degrees to the East and the West from your place.

The AE54 fits perfectly into 40mm feed mounts. The most sensitive spot of an LNB for water and moist is where both metal housing parts meet. We even encountered open spots on some LNBs of which we can guarantee they won't last long. Physically testing an LNB is very easy: just put them into an aquarium. To go for the extra mile, expose them to 60 degrees centigrade as well as 25 below. Most manufacturers don't like this way of testing, but it gives the most accurate results. The AE54 survived the aquarium test without any problems. Extreme temperatures will always more or less influence the LOF; but it's less for the AE54, which came up with a value of around ±3MHz. Small enough to fit within the AFC range of every digital receiver available at our test department.

Suppressing neighbouring signals gives a result of -12dBm for the AE54, which has to called very good.

The gain of a 26MHz-wide transponder signal should be equal all over. Too large differences within the 26MHz range can cause problems in reception of digital bouquets. For the AE54 we measured differences of ±0.5dB.

The noise figure. For the AE54 we measured a solid 0.7dB and a gain of 48dB. The lower band ranges from 10.7 up to 11.7GHz and the high band from 11.7 to 12.75GHz. On the output side, this translates to 950 - 1950 and 1100 - 2150MHz.

Polarisation is selected through the input voltage, where the AE54 accepts between 11.5 and 14Volt for vertical and 16 to 19 Volt for horizontal polarisation. It draws 150mA and is therefore highly compatible with any receiver.

Conclusion

The AE54 Gold is absolutely waterproof as it survived our underwater test. No plastics were used for the housing of the LNB. The LOF is very stable and within the range of the average AFC range of any receiver. This LNB perfectly suits both MCPC (package) as well as SCPC (single channel per carrier) reception. You will get two years of manufacturer warranty. All specifications on the digital reception side are met or they scored even better.